China's Chang'e 5 rover has found a source of trillions of kilograms of water on the moon - it could be used for living and making rocket fuel

Chinese scientists were able to find a potential source of trillions of kilograms of water on the Moon. The Chang'e 5 rover helped them do just that.

Here's What We Know

Scientists have long speculated that the impact glass on the Moon may contain water. More than 50 years ago, the Apollon mission brought lunar rocks back to Earth and found water in them.

Chinese experts have studied the rock from the Chang'e 5 mission, which ended successfully in December 2020. As it turned out, each gram of lunar rock contains 0.002 grams of water.

At first glance, this may not seem like much. However, on the scale of the entire Moon we are dealing with enormous reserves. Specifically, scientists estimate that 2.7 *¹⁰¹⁴ kg (270 trillion kg) of water could be stored in the impact glass. By comparison, the Earth has 1.26 *¹⁰²⁴ kg of water.

It could be used not only for human habitation on a natural satellite, but also for the production of rocket fuel. Modern scientific theories suggest that water on the Moon is formed by solar winds as hydrogen ions combine with oxygen in the regolith. Although some of the water evaporates, the impact glass can absorb and store it.

Source: Nature